The rise of basketball content on social media
By Kameron Black
07–12–2021
NORTH HOLLYWOOD – As digital technology continues to evolve, the current upsurge in social media popularity can be compared to the California Gold Rush in the mid 1800’s. People have figured out how to leverage social media fame into a lucrative business, and large companies are paying top dollar for influencers to promote their products or services online.
There are several effective niches on social media, but sports have seen exponential success in the past decade. More specifically, basketball content has recently exploded on YouTube. Plenty of notable content creators have emerged in the industry, while growing their online audience in the process.
One individual who has seen massive success on social media at a young age is Jesse Riedel, also known as Jesser. Since creating a YouTube channel in July of 2012, he has compiled over 1 billion views and 3.3 million subscribers. At just 21 years old, he purchased a 2.8-million-dollar home in Los Angeles, California. His house now functions as a central location for famous basketball creators to collaborate and create content.
Riedel attributes the majority of his success to the internet. When describing his journey to YouTube stardom, he said, “Sports media has just completely changed over the last ten years, twenty years."
Mitchell Crowley, also known as Moochie, is Riedel’s childhood friend. He has accumulated a total of 651,000 subscribers on YouTube since uploading his first basketball video five years ago. When describing the impact of social media on the sports industry, Crowley said, “It builds a whole other aspect of fandom.”
A handful of professional athletes have also seen decent success on social media, simply by documenting their daily lives. More than 32 NBA players have jumped on the trend by creating their own YouTube channels.
Aron Cohen is another person who has turned his love for basketball and social media into a full-time career. When he was 14 years old, Cohen created @LakersAllDayEveryday on Instagram. This originally started as a passion project, but it has grown into a community of 282,000 die-hard fans for the Los Angeles Lakers.
While studying journalism at the University of Southern California, Cohen used his social media presence to land internships at sports media companies like Bleacher Report, Adidas, and ESPN.
Cohen has built close relationships with Anthony Davis, Jared Dudley, Quinn Cook, and many other basketball players in Los Angeles.
Aron's home office
Aron's jersey collection
Quinn Cook & Aron Cohen
Aron admiring a mural in LA
Without a doubt, it seems that the trajectory of technology and sports are inevitable. Although the career paths for many individuals in social media are unconventional, they are paving a new lane for the next generation of sports journalism and communications.